The downward spiral that has sent this nation’s real estate market reeling out of control is far from over yet. For all the election year rhetoric flying around these days about the general state of the national economy, although the situation is not all doom and gloom, the news does not look as good as the politicians would like you to believe…for right now at least.

Being realistic for the moment, for those of you who like to follow market trends, how about these:

• Home prices in 17 out of 20 MSAs posted record low declines in February
• The number of vacant homes in this country have hit a record high
• Consumer confidence fell sharply in March
• Home sales volume in the largest real estate market in the country was down significantly for March

And it’s only Tuesday!

Check out the reports for yourself (see the links above). No matter what you want to call it — a housing slump, a housing sector contraction (thank you Federal Reserve), a mortgage meltdown, etc., one thing is evident…after years of an absurd overheating of market activity we are now in the midst of one heck of a market correction!

It took six years this time for the bubble to burst (although many industry analysts denied it would ever happen). So don’t be surprised now if it takes at least that long to work its way through the cycle no matter what you call it.

The downside of the business cycle is not over yet. And until it recovers, these latest reports are clear evidence that foreclosures are not going anywhere anytime soon.

This is the greatest window of opportunity in a decade for wishful homebuyers and savvy real estate investors to get into the marketplace on a national scale and pick up some good opportunities on the bargain side of the price list.

It’s not over yet, so go for it!